AHLC | Cases | Carrol County

Completed Lawsuits:

Bruce A. Hake, et al. v. Carroll County, Maryland, by its Board of County Commissioners, et al.

In May 2013, the American Humanist Association sued the Carroll County Board of Commissioners for its unconstitutional practice of delivering sectarian prayers at board meetings.

For a period of more than a year, the case was stayed pending a ruling on a similar case litigated by the ACLU involving sectarian prayers by the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. In June 2018, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case effectively letting stand a lower court ruling that found the Rowan County commissioners' practice of delivering Christian prayers before their public meetings was unconstitutional.

On September 10, 2019, The U.S. District Court issued a final order permanently barring the Commissioners from delivering prayers at all future meetings.

Selected Case Documents:

District Court (Case No. 1:13-cv-01312):

Complaint (filed May 1, 2013)

Brief in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed May 1, 2013)

Motion of Contempt and Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion of Contempt (filed April 1, 2014)

Motion for Summary Judgment (filed June 9, 2014)

Motion to Compel Discovery (filed July 16, 2014)

Court Order granting Motion to Compel Discovery (issued August 14, 2014)

Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Summary Judgment (filed November 12, 2014)

Reply to Defendant’s Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgement and in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgement (filed December 1, 2014)

Letter to the Court discussing Rowan County (filed March 3, 2016)

Final Order (signed September 10, 2019)